An ObiShira Love Story
by newlyotaku4
Summary: Disclaimer(This is my 1st time writing anything like this) While her opinions and feelings for Zen are apparent to everyone (especially Obi) Shirayuki finds herself wondering about a deep feeling harbored within her for her personal guard and most trusted ally and friend. Obi has a strong sense of protection over Shirayuki, but is strictly professional or is there something more?


**Chapter 1**

"Hey there miss." Obi says with a resigned smile.

"Oh hi Obi, I didn't even notice you" she replied as she wiped the soil from her hands.

"Yes well I could hardly call myself your personal guard if it were easy to sense me coming now could I?"

"Fair enough".

"Whatcha up to?" he asked as he offered his hand which she grasped with her own delicate and dirt-ridden fingers.

"Just tending to the lemon-balm I planted not too long ago."

She stood to her full height and wiping a bead of sweat from her brow, trailing dirt across her forehead. Without thinking Obi found himself wiping it away with the sleeve of his shirt. He realized what he'd done only after the bottom of his palm met the smooth softness of her pale skin. Shirayuki glanced up at him with a slightly perplexed look in her eyes and when their eyes met Obi felt his heart flutter. He kept her gaze for an instant longer before shrugging as he wiped the last of the smudge away. As he casually clasped his hands behind his head trying to feign the look of a relaxed stature, he mentally chastised his impulsiveness.

"Beg your pardon miss" he said as he steps away.

"Oh, uh," Shirayuki felt her face turn red. "It's fine really, thank you."

With Shirayuki leading the way they made their way up the garden steps in silence, each lost in their own thoughts. Obi took in the sights of the garden. Canopies of trees dotted the vast expanse of the castle grounds while rows of flowers and herbs of all colors and varieties grew in organized rows along on either side of the steep stairs they were currently climbing. With the sun setting behind them, it's sunlight only seemed to add to the splendor of the garden. Wherever the light touched added a certain softness to the unique textures of each flower and where the light didn't shine casted a lovely shadow making the vibrant colors of the vegetation stand out even more.

" _It's no wonder she loves being out here. It's beautiful."_ he thought.

Shirayuki continued up the steps, shifting the weight of her garden tools in her basket from hip to hip. She glanced back to Obi occasionally to find him staring intently at the gardens, with a pleased expression on his face. She smiled to herself. She'd always enjoyed his company and found comfort in knowing he was always watching her back. Being here with him now just made coming out to the garden that much more enjoyable. She did feel twinges of guilt now and again whenever thoughts like these crossed her mind. It wasn't as if they were ever inappropriate with each other. Zen knew they were good friends, it only made sense that they would spend as much time together as they do since Obi was her personal guard. " _Both Zen and I trust Obi with our lives."_ she thought to herself. _"So then why do I always feel guilty after spending the day with him?"_. When she glanced back to him again, she was met with his piercing gaze. Surprised, she lost her footing on a step and slipped which caused her to partially lose her grip on her basket. Just as it was about to fall Obi suddenly appeared right beside her to help balance the weight. As he stood so close to her she could just barely pick up the scent of him. An earthy yet sweet scent that reminded her of the forests from her homeland. She snapped out of her reverie when she suddenly felt considerably less weight from the basket than she had started out with.

"Why don't I take this side miss?" he said with his trademark smirk.

"I can handle it just fine, thank you" she murmured.

"Well of course you can, I just figured we'd get to the top quicker if you didn't try to shoulder the weight of it on your own."

She tugged at her side of the basket, shifting the weight more to her side. "I carried it down here didn't I?"

"Yes and now you have me so you can take it easy to an extent now, right?"

She shrugged and submitted the other side of the basket to him and together they made their way back to the greenhouse.


End file.
